It’s that time of year again: with the end of 2015 and the onset of 2016, you’ve decided it’s the ideal moment to make resolutions that will improve your career over the coming months. However, the real challenge is choosing the right resolutions, ones that you are likely to carry out in full and that are going to make a difference to your life.
We’ve therefore come up with a few guidelines to help you choose your professional goals for the New Year.

Resolutions that matter
Every year, we all hear the same resolutions being bandied about, be it getting a pay rise, a promotion, or a new job. However, it’s best to avoid the generic resolutions that everyone else makes; instead, aim for resolutions that are specific to your current professional situation. If you set career goals that are important to you, you’ve higher chances of being successful at carrying them out.

Be realistic
You also need to make sure that you set yourself manageable professional goals in order to be able to achieve them. Think realistically: if your resolutions are achievable, you’re less likely to get discouraged along the way.

Quality over quantity
Similarly, avoid setting too many goals. It’s better to make fewer resolutions, and achieve them, than make too many and give up before the month of January is even over. The fewer resolutions you make, the more likely you are to be successful.

Think ahead
Resolutions rarely just happen like that: like most career development, it takes careful planning. If you’re serious about making resolutions, set some time aside to establish what really needs changing in your career. If you decide to make a resolution on a whim, at the stroke of midnight, you probably won’t be as dedicated to carrying it out.

Questions, rather than goals
Finally, new research published in the Journal of Consumer of Psychology has revealed that individuals are more likely to fulfill goals if they are formulated in the form of questions rather than statements.
So, this year, why not try asking yourself some questions about what your career holds in store for you in 2016?